


Live well, my beloved child

by RikaAven



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Abusive Grisha Yeager, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Minor Character Death, Original Character Death(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prince!Eren, Tags will be updated with relevant chapters, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-11 15:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7898449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikaAven/pseuds/RikaAven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You are the King's illegitimate child. It has, unfortunately, fallen to me to find and collect you."</p><p>When Eren finds out that the abusive Grisha Yeager isn't his real father his life is turned into a mess. From gloves worth more than his old wardrobe to the many intrigues of court life, nothing is like it used to be. Thankfully, a man called Levi is there to keep him safe (although be it begrudgingly, at first).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Decisions leading to results

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this is my first attempt at anything not short one-shots or prompts. I have no idea where this will go so tags and warnings will be updated as the story progresses, so make sure to check the tags before reading a new chapter! Scenes of sexual or violent nature will either be cut out or given warning ahead of time.

_16 years ago..._

*

 

Queen Charice of the Kingdom of Sina was barren.

  
After nearly a decade trying but failing to conceive a child she and the King had to face this truth. They were understandably heartbroken to not have a child of their own to love and cherice, not to mention the issues arising with an heir being abscent when the King and Queen were to pass.

  
They were sat in their living room, next to each other on the softest sofa in the room. It was a light creme colour with brown and white cushions. The theme of the room was of earthy tones overall, from the thin curtains hanging by the windows being a dark green to the wooden furniture keeping their original wooden colouring, althought polished to a shine which reflected the bright sun.  
The Queen herself wore a soft pink dress. Light and informal -meant to be worn outside of court- it hugged her body loosely, showing just a hint of her curves while still flowing over her skin, warmed from a day outside. Though her outside appearance radiated beauty there was a distinct feeling of sorrow coming from both her and the King, whom looked like a proper king in his deep red robes and golden accents. They held each other close, sharing the comfort of human contact as they mourned the children that would never be.

  
The only sounds were of the birds cheerfully chirping outside and the footsteps of passing servants or nobles going about their days, unknowing of the decisions having to be made by their royal couple. The silence in the room was only broken when Queen Charice sighed and looked up at her husband, resignation running deep in her dark blue eyes.

  
"You know what we have discussed", she said. Thought it made her chest hurt she had to make her thoughts heard. "We knew this was a possibility since the first year of no success. If you have to take another lover then you know my thoughts on the matter."

  
The King looked almost scandalised, and hurt. They had indeed spoken of this before, but it hurt all the same to even consider betraying his beloved in such a way. He hadn't even looked at another woman since their proposal had been announced to the public. The thought of breaking his silent promise took much from him.

  
"My love", the King started, hesitating only for a second before continuing. "I would not risk hurting our relationship in this way." She looked ready to protest so he was quick to add; "You know there are several young boys born from nobles whose parents would consider it an honour to have them named heir. It has been done before."

  
"Yes, and have you forgotten how those arrangements ended? With murder and chaos being the results! We have seen a kingdom fall like this by ourselves and you want it to happen with Sina?" Queen Charice stood up, feeling upset from the mere possibility of her Kingdom suffering this fate. Though she had not been born inside Sina's borders she had grown to care for it's wide fields and high mountains, the tops having already been covered in snow as the winter times were fast approaching. The people loved her and she was always keen on giving them due respect for the hard work they put into keeping their lands flourishing, whether they knew it or not.  
The King rose with her and followed her to the windows. He embraced her and held her close while they gazed down on the people moving outside on the courtyard, looking like ants from their high perspective. He kissed her brown hair at the top of her head and murmured in her ear;

  
"There is not a chance in this world that I would allow Sina to fall into the hands of unworthy, trust me in that Charice." He drew a hand through her curls while he used his other hand to pet down her side, letting it rest on her hip as he drew her closer still.

  
He sighed, knowing the decision was already made long before they had brought it up. There was no other way possible

.  
"Very well, my love", he said. Queen Charice shuddered as he whispered in her ear. "But let's not think of it anymore, let us find joy in at least having each other for this day."


	2. Arriving at new places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the chapter titles will make sense, sometimes I'm too tired to think of something good.  
> Implied abuse of Eren by Grisha in this chapter, should be fairly minor

It was a day like any other. The grass was just as green, possibly turning yellow in some spots, with a colourful arrangement of flowers covering any available spot in the small garden. What wasn't grass was stone path, slightly mossy and still damp from the earlier rain. All over the small village were singing birds, brought out from their hiding places once the wet drops had stopped falling. It all created a beautiful picture, the perfect location to live. Yet so few knew that Trost even existed, it was barely a dot on the map.

Life didn't change much when you lived so secluded. Sure, merchants and travellers of all sorts came through occasionally, often enough that new fabrics or tools could be bought at least. Food was no issue as Trost hadn't had a drought in over a hundred years. You'd think this would make it the perfect location to set up a larger scale of food production for the rest of the Kingdom, but the journey from Trost to the Capitol was too long for any such business to be particularly fruitful.

It was perfectly alright with Eren though, seeing as he preferred the quiet of Trost compared to the larger towns he'd been to. It was always someone shouting or someone shoving him and, frankly, people had better manners in his village than some of the upper-class men he'd had the misfortune to encounter.

What was somewhat special about this day in particular would only come to be revealed later in the day when his mother called him for dinner. He'd spent the day strolling through the scattered buildings with his friends and doing what teenagers had done in all times, made stupid bets about this or that to win themselves some coins or perhaps one of Armin's mother's famous pastries. They were deliciously creamy with strawberries or blueberries depending on the time of year and you'd be crazy to decline if they were offered, or used in a bet as the case often was.

"Eren, could you please set the table for us?" His mother Carla called from the kitchen as she heard the front door close. He didn't bother to answer but set about doing as his mother said. They were lucky to have a separate dining room and not having to eat in the kitchen. Carla wouldn't tell him why they were so well of, though it clearly wasn't from his father's work.

Their house was one of the largest in the village, made of bricks as well. It was the subject of many's envy, though they couldn't say that the Yeager family was rich because of it. They wore the same patchwork of clothing as everyone else, new clothes being a rarity because of how expensive the fabric brought along the merchants were. There were those in the village that could make fabric, but it was of low quality and didn't do much but work as temporary patches on clothes that had served some time already.

When they were finally sat Eren allowed himself to take a deep breath of the tasty smelling soup sat in front of him before he asked;

"Is father coming home tonight?" He tried to make his voice clear but it refused to obey, turning out soft and weak. Eren cleared his throath.

His mother took a moment to answer, carefully cutting and chewing her food while she appeared to Eren to be deep in thoughts. Carla had never been witness to any of Grisha's bad moods, at least not to the degree she knew her son had. To her, he'd always acted loving and caring, the perfect man and husband. However, she would need to be blind not to notice how her son's behavior changed whenever Grisha was mentioned or in the same room, even building. He became quiet, more hesitant in his movements. His shoulders would hunch forward as he shrunk in front of others eyes. Not to such an amount that anyone other than Carla noticed, she was his mother after all.

"Not until later, he told me this morning that a large order had been placed and he would be needed after working hours to finish it within the deadline set." She held her breath as to not release a saddened sigh at the obvious relief the news gave her son. Eren would be asleep by the time his father returned home, out of sight and out of mind. She was quick to add; "But please remember to be here during lunch tomorrow. We'll have a visitor who claims a need to meet you. He says he's from the capital."

Eren quickly thought back to earlier in the day when he'd overheard a group of people talking. They had mentioned a stranger passing by, only gaining notice by his cold demeanor and short stature. He'd been asking strange questions none of them had the answer to and then dismissed them once he knew there was nothing to gain from them. A right snob they called him, thinking he could just show up and start demanding stuff from them.

Eren had no idea what he could've done that had attracted the attention of someone from the Capital, surely the apple he'd "stolen" from Mrs. Twigh's shop wasn't such big an event to warrant a visit? Deciding it really wasn't Eren settled with finding out the reason for this sudden visit when it actually was to happen.

The remainder of their dinner passed in a lighter mood, jokes and stories of their respective days passed back and forth while they both enjoyed their time together. Going to bed was a calm affair after washing the dishes and bidding his mother goodnight, only happy thoughts moving in Eren's head.


End file.
